Material treating apparatus



Feb. 19, 1946. I w ARNOLD 2,395,090

MATERIAL TREATING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 7, 1945 Bay INVENTOR 945x W file/V040 ATTORNEYS.

, Patented Feb. 19, 1946 r oFFicE MATERIAL TREATING APPARATUS Alex W. Arnold, La Crosse, we. Application August 7, 1943, Serial N0. 497,755

12 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in material treating apparatus. The apparatus hereinafter to be disclosed may be used in heating, dehydrating or chilling finely divided particles of material of any nature, including such diverse items as foundry sand, grains, comminuted produce, and foods for human consumption, such as eg powder and the like.

It is the primary object of the invention to provide a novel and improved arrangement for transferring the treated material pneumatically past a succession of blasts of treating. gas, by each one of which the material is in turn pneumatically advanced and in each one of which the material is exposed to gas previously unused for treatment.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an apparatus such that the treating apparatus can be extremely simple, with few moving parts, and with very little contact between the treated material and any surface of the apparatus, while still providing for frequent renewal of contact of the material in course of treatment with gas previously unused for treatment. Whether the function or purpose of the treatment is to change the temperature of the material or its water content or its chemical composition, in any event, the constant reengagement of the material with previously unusual gas is a factor making for speedy accomplishment of the objective of the treatment Other objects of the invention will appear more particularly to those skilled in the art upon analysis of the following disclosure of the invention.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section taken on the line l-l of Fig. 2 through a treating chamber embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a view on a reduced scale showing partially in side elevation and partially in section a complete installation embodying the invention.

Fig. 3 is a detailed view showing on an enlarged scale a side view of portions of the gas directing baflies as viewed from the plane indicated at line 3-3 in Fig. 1.

Figs. 4 and 5 are fragmentary detail views of a modified embodiment of a hopper taken in sections at right angles to each other.

Like parts are identified by the same reference characters throughout the several views.

Referring first to the general apparatus illustrated in Fig. 2, it will be noted that I have shown at I a source of treating gas. As above indicated, according to the pu pose 01' the treatsired. As illustrated, it constitutes means for changing the temperature of atmospheric air admitted through the louvers at 8. In the specific apparatus exemplifying the invention, the

air, instead of being heated, is chilled in an air washing chamber 9 and in traversing a radiator it having refrigerant pipe connections at H to refrigerating apparatus (not shown). The chilled air, after passing the bafiles I2, is transferred to a cabinet i5, En route, it may pass through a fan 16. I have shown another fan at I! for removing air from the cabinet, it being understood that either fan may be omitted.

The cabinet l5 has wall panels l8 and I3 removably secured thereto by bolts or the like at 20. The treating gas is delivered into the bottom of the cabinet through a boot 2!, passin at either side of the collecting trough 22 to enter the plenum chambers 23 and 24 which extend the full height of the cabinet immediately within the removable wall panels I8, IS.

The material to be treated enters the cabinet through the hopper 25 which may have a rotary charging valve at 26 for delivering successive charges of material downwardly into the hopper without permitting either the admission or escape of any substantial quantities of air. Al alterna- 29 for agitating the material, breaking up lumps therein, and feeding it to the screen 21.

In either case, the wall 30 of the feeding device preferably extends downwardly into the cabinet to constitute the first of a series of baflles for controlling the relative movement of the treating gas and the material to be treated. Spaced below the lower margin of the baflle 30 is an arcuately curved baifle 3| which has a somewhat upwardly inclined portion at 32 disposed in the path of material delivered into the cabinet through the hopper. The baflle portion 32 constitutes, in effect, a shelf upon which such material would fall but for the fact that, in moving toward such shelf, it passes transversely of a carried/ thereby transversely of the cabinet.

Such oi the material as may encounter the shelf portion 32 of the battle will be swept therefrom baflie at 35 having a portion 28 against which the material is almost tangentially directed by the gas blast in which it has been entrained. From the portion 38 tangentially encountered by the material and the gas, the baiile l5 curves downwardly and inwardly to a discharge lip at 31 from which the material is delivered across another intake port at 38 into which another blast of gas is supplied from plenum chamber 23. Again a valve plate 39 adjustable on baiile 35 permits the dimensions of the gas admission port to be varied at will.

The material passing downwardly and inwardly upon the concave baflie 35 is now entrained in the gas admitted through port 28 which sweeps inwardly and upwardly across the shelf surface 320 which is similar to the shelf surface above described, except that its inclination is opposite. The material is pneumatically conveyed over shelf surface 320 into substantially tangential engagement with baflle 350 which is concave and, like vbailie 35, changes the direction of the material again and directs it-downwardly and inward- 1y to a point of delivery at 310, where it passes across an admission port." for gases from the plenum chamber'24. This port also may be ad- J'ustable by means of valve plate 4|. The material is nd entrained in another blast of previously unused gas sweeping across the shelf :portion 32l which isin all respects similar to the shelf portion 32 above described.- The material is picked up substantially tangentially by baflie 35i which again directs it downwardly toward shelf surface 322 across which sweeps a blast entering from plenum chamber 23 through the port 42.

It will be noted that the various baflles. are associated in pairs, baille 32 deviating somewhat from baflle 350 while baflle 320 deviates somewhat from baflle 35L I At the top of the cabinet, or elsewhere if desired, these baflles may be connected with convex walls 44, this being desirable for certain cases if initially sticky materials are being handled. Where the operation is such that the materials lose their stickiness, or where the materials are not sticky, any number of the baflies may simply be cut oil and connected by vertical walls such as those shown at 45.

In any event, the material to be treated is passed from one side of the apparatus to the other in a series of operations, in each of which the material is delivered pneumatically across the path of a newly admitted blast of treating gas in which it is then entrained and projected in space across the cabinet to be picked up tangentially by another baflie and again delivered transversely of a newly admitted blast of treating gas. Obviously, there may be as many such operations as may be desired.

Ultimately, the material passes intothe collecting trough 22 at the bottom of the cabinet from the end of which pipe 41 delivers it to a centrifugal separator 48 of the cyclone type. Where the material is of such a nature as to permit its use, a fan ll may be incorporated in this pipe. Otherwise, the fan l6 may be .entirely relied upon for motivating the treating gas.

The rotary charging valve 26 of Fig. 1 or the shaft 28 of Figs. 4 and 5, together with one or more fans used to impel the gas, maybe driven by any suitable source of power such as the motor 42. The treating gas issuing at '80 from the separator 48 may be allowed to escape to the atmosphere or may be collected for further use as desired. The treated material issues in the usual way at 5|.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the precise location of the fan or fans is not important, but that a fan located at it will not have to be'traversed by the material treated. It will further be understood that the apparatus disclosed, while illustrative of the best construction known to me at the time, is susceptible of many changes while still preserving the principle of transferring the material from one blast of gas to another to be successively entrained in ,gas which has not previously acted upon the material. By this method of operation, I accelerate the treatment because the effect of one blast of gas has no sooner been partially imparted to the material than the material is transferred to receive the eilect of another blast. Thus the material is exposed for a very large part of the time to treating gas at full strength. When the object is to cool the material, the advantage of having the material constantly in contact with gas at substantially the lowest temperature at which such gas is admitted to the cabinet, will be apparent and the same advantages hold where the object is to heat the material or otherwise to treat it.

I claim:

1. In a device of the character described, a treating chamber provided with a valved inlet, a suitable outlet and having at opposite sides of its central portion a series of shelflike work receiving supports in mutually staggered relation, said chamber having substantially at the surface of each of said supports blast admission ports, means for directing blasts of treating gas across the respective supports and toward the opposite side of the chamber, and means for establishing a sufficient pressure differential between said chamber and the respective ports for entraining material in gas admitted through the respective ports for delivering such material pneumatically transversely of the chamber to successive supports at successively lower levels in the chamber, said chamber being provided opposite the respective ports with curvilinear baiiies disposed to receive substantially tangentially the blast from an opposite port'and to guide toward a lower support and blast the material received from across the chamber.

2. In a device of the character described, a treating chamber having infeeding and outfeeding means and comprising opposing series of baiiies, the baflles in each series comprising divergent pairs of walls whereof the upper wall comprises a shelflike support and the wall associated therewith in a pair comprises a concave receiving, surface with respect to which the shelflike support of a corresponding pair of walls across the chamber is substantially tangential, said chamber providing gas blast admission ports between the successive ba'flies of each series, the said ports, as well as the said baiiles, being in mutually staggered position at opposite sides'of the chamber.

3. The device of claim 2 in which the walls of each pair are connected'centrally of the chamber by a wall structure.

4. The device of claim 2 in which a cabinet in which said bailles are disposed provides plenum 7 chambers outside of the respective sets of batfles with which said ports communicate to receive gas for delivering through the respective ports across the respective shelf surfaces of baflles associated with the respective ports.

5. The device of claim 2 in which a cabinet in which said sets of baflies are located comprises plenum chambers with which the ports communicate and has a gas admission boot at its bottom and a collecting trough connected with bafties at opposite sides of the cabinet to receive material and gas between said plenum chambers.

6. In equipment for treating material with gas,

the combination with a cabinet having a valved inlet for material, a gas inlet and .a common outlet, of a set of baiiles spaced within the cabinet and cylindrically curved in opposite directions to define a succession of treating chambers having gas inlet ports opening fromopposite sides of the cabinet at staggered points, each port being located between the margin of one of the baffles and the curving surface of a succeeding baflle, said cabinet having plenum chambers outside of said baiiies and with which said ports communicate, each baiiie having an arcuately curved concave surface opposite its associated gas inlet port, adapted to receive tangentially a blast of gas and the material entrained therewith, and to deliver such material transversely of a successive port leading from a plenum chamber at the opposite side of the cabinet. I

7. Apparatus for treating materials with gas, comprising the combination of a cabinet having an inlet for material provided with a mixing and charging valve, an inlet for gas and a common outlet, a set of bailles spaced within the cabinet and cylindrically curved in opposite directions to define a passage, with one end of which the valved inlet communicates, and into which gas from the other portions of the cabinet may be admitted between the margins of the bafiies and the outer surfaces of succeeding baiiles, said baflies being formed to direct the flow of mixed material and gas alternately in oppositely curving streams across the paths of the entering currents of gas from one end of the passage to the other.

8. In equipment for treating material with gas, the combination with a cabinet having an inlet for material in its top portion, a gas inlet, and an outlet in its lower portion, of a set of bailies connecting opposite side walls of the cabinet at difierent levels and cylindrically curved in opposite directions outwardly and downwardly from the central portion of the space between the connected side walls, with the lower margin of each bafile in proximity to the upper portion of the surface of a succeeding bailie curving in the opposite direction, said baiiles forming a passage leading from the material receiving inlet downwardly to the outlet in a series of upwardly, laterally and downwardly curving sections, the other portions of the cabinet serving as plenum chambers for supplying gas to said passage from opposite sides thereof and over the convex surfaces of the downwardly curving baflies, and means for supplying gas under pressure to said plenum chambers, whereby the material entering each section is lifted by a blast of gas tangentially to the wall of the section below it, entrained and carried laterally and downwardly to the next section to be again lifted and its direction reversed by a blast of gas entering from the other plenum chamber.

9. Apparatus for treating material with gas, comprising the combination of a cabinet provided with a gas inlet and means for supplying gas thereto under pressure, a column of baiiies spaced within the cabinet and cylindrically curved in opposite directions to define a passage, the lower margin of each baflie being provided with a regulating valve for admitting gas to said passage from another portion of the cabinet, means for delivering material into the upper end of said passage, and means for delivering gas and entrained material from said passage at the lower end of the cabinet, said bafiies being formed to direct the flow of gas admitted by the regulating valves upwardly against the descending material to lift the latter and carry it laterally and downwardly without lodgement upon the succeeding baiile, the lower end of said passage being provided with an outlet leading to the exterior of the cabinet, and means connected with said passage for receiving and separating the material from the gas.

10. In a device of the character described, the combination with a plenum chamber and means for supplying gas under pressure thereto, of a treating chamber within the plenum, chamber,

chambers having registering outlets and fan' means for delivering material and gas therethrough.

11. Apparatus for treating material with gas, comprising the combination of a tower-like plenum chamber provided with means for supplying gas thereto under pressure and having an outlet in its lower portion, a treating chamber leading downwardly within the plenum chamber to the outlet, and a rotary charging valve at the upper end of the chamber for feeding wet material to the treating chamber, said treating chamber comprising opposing series of arcuate bafiies arranged with the bailles of each series curving outwardly and downwardly from an upper margin around the upper margin of a baffie of the opposing series to which it is in spaced relation, and then inwardly to a lower margin adjacent the outwardly and downwardly curving portion of the next baiile in the same series, there being slots between the baflles through which gas supplied to the plenum chamber circulates into the treating chamber.

12. Apparatus as set forth in claim 11, in which a trough-shaped lower bailie leading to the outlet is disposed to receive material from both of said series of bailles.

ALEX W. ARNOLD. 

